Five individuals were arrested when tensions flared outside a forum attended by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig City on Thursday, according to a rights group.
In a statement, Karapatan identified the apprehended individuals as five paralegals: three arrested during the dispersal of protesters; and two arrested while supposedly assisting the former.
‘Karapatan condemns these arbitrary arrests as a clear violation of the people’s right to peaceful protest, particularly on the urgent and burning issue of the Pax Silica initiative in the Philippines,’ it stressed.
For its part, in its own statement, the group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment noted that at least 27 protesters had been ‘shoved, dragged, beaten with heavy riot shields and police batons, and roughly manhandled’ during the dispersal.
Marcos was attending the Luzon Economic Corridor Investors Forum at a hotel in BGC when protesters outside voiced opposition to Pax Silica.
Pax Silica is a United States (US)-led coalition of 14 countries, including the Philippines, aiming to strengthen supply chains for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
Stakeholders and progressive groups have raised concerns related to the possible displacement of communities and environmental protection.
A spot report from the Southern Police District (SPD) identified those arrested at the rally by the aliases ‘Daya,’ a 40-year-old woman; ‘Riezelle,’ a 38-year-old woman; ‘Kenneth,’ a 24-year-old man; ‘Jonalin,’ a 35-year-old woman; and ‘Ramon,’ a 25-year-old man.
‘Pilit sila pumapasok. Pinagbabawal naman,’ SPD Deputy Director for Operations Col. Robert Baesa said in an interview with reporters.
(They were forcibly trying to enter. It’s not allowed.)
‘Kakasuhan yun. Illegal assembly. Bawal dito. Wala namang permit dito sa BGC mag-rally,’ he added.
(They’ll be charged with illegal assembly. It’s not allowed here. They don’t have a permit here in BGC to hold a rally.)
According to Baesa, at least 16 police officers were injured.
‘Mga suntok. May mga gasgas-gasgas. May mga tama,’ he explained.
(They were punched. Some had scratches. Some were hit.)
‘Hindi kailanman nagsimula ang pulis talaga ng gulo… Lagi namang maximum tolerance kami,’ he added.
(The police have never started trouble… We’ve always been for maximum tolerance.)
The arrested individuals were taken under Taguig City police custody, awaiting charges for alarm and scandal, resistance and disobedience to a person in authority, direct assault, tumults and other disturbances of public order and violation of Batas Pambansa No. 880 or the Public Assembly Act, according to the SPD spot report.